This 2.54" × 1.45" × 1.45" gearmotor is a powerful 12V brushed DC motor with a 18.75:1 metal gearbox and an integrated quadrature encoder that provides a resolution of 64 counts per revolution of the motor shaft, which corresponds to 1200 counts per revolution of the gearbox’s output shaft. These units have a 0.61"-long, 6 mm-diameter D-shaped output shaft. This gearmotor is also available without an encoder.

Overview

This powerful brushed DC gearmotor is available in six different gear ratios and features an integrated quadrature encoder with 64 counts per revolution (CPR) of the motor shaft. The motor and encoder portion is available by itself (no gearbox), and versions without the encoder are also available.

These motors are intended for use at 12 V, though in general, these kinds of motors can run at voltages above and below the nominal voltage (they can begin rotating at voltages as low as 1 V). Lower voltages might not be practical, and higher voltages could start negatively affecting the life of the motor.

Details for item #1442

Exact gear ratio: ``(25×30×30) / (10×10×12) = bb(18.75:1)``

Gearmotor accessories

The face plate has six mounting holes evenly spaced around the outer edge threaded for M3 screws. These mounting holes form a regular hexagon and the centers of neighboring holes are 15.5 mm apart. We carry two brackets for these gearmotors: a stamped aluminum L-bracket (sold in pairs) and a sturdier, tombstone-style machined aluminum bracket (sold individually):

The 6 mm diameter gearbox output shaft works with the Pololu universal aluminum mounting hub for 6mm shafts, which can be used to mount our larger Pololu wheels (80mm- and 90mm-diameter) or custom wheels and mechanisms to the gearmotor’s output shaft as shown in the left picture below. Alternatively, you could use our 6mm scooter wheel adapter to mount many common scooter, skateboard, and inline skate wheels to the gearmotor’s output shaft as shown in the right picture below:

37D mm metal gearmotor with 64 CPR encoder and Pololu 90×10mm wheel.

A 37D mm gearmotor connected to a scooter wheel by the 6 mm scooter wheel adapter.

Warning: Do not screw too far into the mounting holes as the screws can hit the gears. We recommend screwing no further than 3mm (1/8") into the screw hole.

37D mm metal gearmotor with 64 CPR encoder.

Using the Encoder

A two-channel Hall effect encoder is used to sense the rotation of a magnetic disk on a rear protrusion of the motor shaft. The quadrature encoder provides a resolution of 64 counts per revolution of the motor shaft when counting both edges of both channels. To compute the counts per revolution of the gearbox output, multiply the gear ratio by 64. The motor/encoder has six color-coded, 11" (28 cm) leads terminated by a 1×6 female header with a 0.1″ pitch, as shown in the main product picture. This header works with standard 0.1″ male headers and our male jumper and precrimped wires. If this header is not convenient for your application, you can pull the crimped wires out of the header or cut the header off. The following table describes the wire functions:

Color

Function

Red

motor power (connects to one motor terminal)

Black

motor power (connects to the other motor terminal)

Green

encoder GND

Blue

encoder Vcc (3.5 – 20 V)

Yellow

encoder A output

White

encoder B output

The Hall sensor requires an input voltage, Vcc, between 3.5 and 20 V and draws a maximum of 10 mA. The A and B outputs are square waves from 0 V to Vcc approximately 90° out of phase. The frequency of the transitions tells you the speed of the motor, and the order of the transitions tells you the direction. The following oscilloscope capture shows the A and B (yellow and white) encoder outputs using a motor voltage of 12 V and a Hall sensor Vcc of 5 V:

By counting both the rising and falling edges of both the A and B outputs, it is possible to get 64 counts per revolution of the motor shaft. Using just a single edge of one channel results in 16 counts per revolution of the motor shaft, so the frequency of the A output in the above oscilloscope capture is 16 times the motor rotation frequency.

Selecting the Right Gearmotor

We offer a wide selection of metal gearmotors that offer different combinations of speed and torque. Our metal gearmotor comparison table can help you find the motor that best meets your project’s requirements.